A vapor chamber is a sealed vessel containing fluid that vaporizes in the vicinity of the hot component. The vapor migrates to a cooler surface of the vapor chamber, where it condenses and returns to the vicinity of the hot component.
Vapor chambers are typically used for their high thermal performance. For example, they can be used to dissipate heat from electronic components (e.g., computer chips capable of generating tremendous amounts of heat) by conducting heat away from the electronic component and towards cooling fins on a heatsink. In order to maintain contact for effective heat transfer, the vapor chamber can be mounted (e.g., to the electronic component and/or heatsink) through the use of mounting screws, which requires the vapor chamber to have mounting holes for receiving the mounting screws.
However, it is not a simple matter of adding mounting holes on the periphery of the vapor chamber (e.g., the mounting holes may need to be as close to the electronic component as possible in order to improve contact), and there are certain challenges associated with integrating mounting holes into the enclosed structure of a vapor chamber. There may be variations in the dimensions of the vapor chamber components that make it difficult to have mounting holes of uniform size. Additionally, vapor chambers are weak structures and may be subject to high compression forces from mounting, so any addition of mounting holes should not further compromise the integrity of the vapor chamber. Finally, the assembled vapor chamber should remain enclosed while providing a maximum surface for thermal contact.